Method of making hot-finished flats.



P. H. DANIELS, DEGD.

S. L- DANIELS, EXEGUTBIX. METHOD OF MAKING HOT FINISHED FLATS.

APPLIOATIQK FILED MAY 23 1911 1,108 144. Patented Aug. 25, 1914,

- 2 SHEETSSHBBT 1 INVENTOR WITNESSES F. H. DANIELS, DEGD. s. L- DANIELS, txEcUTnIx.

METHOD OF MAKING HOT FINISHED FLATS.

APPLICATION mam MAY 23, 1911. 1,108,144, Patented Aug. 25, 1914.

2 SHEETS- 2' FIG. 2

FIG. 3

W M M marsh ermine carton.

FRED H. DANIELS, OF WORCESTER, MASSACHUSETTS; seam L. DANIELS, EXECUTRIX G-F SAFE) Es DANIELS, DECEASED, ASSIGNOR TG THE AMERICAN STEEL AND VZIRE COMPANY OF NEWJE'BSEY, 0F HOBOKEN, NEW JERSEY, A COBPORATIONQF JEWEY;

METHOD OF MAKING HOT-FINISHED FLATS.

Specification of Letters Patent.

Patented Aug. 25, mm.

Application filed they 23, will. Sexist 26o. 8295237.

To all whom it may concern: Be it known that I, FRED Worcester, in the county of Worcester and State of Massachusetts, have invented a new and useful Method 0f:Making Hot-Finished Flats, of which the following is afull, clear, and-exact description, reference being had to the accompanying drawings, forming part of this specification. I

My invention relates to the manufacture of hot finished metal flats and similar rolled metal shapes and is designed to provide a novel method of and improved apparatus for rolling, straightening and reeling such flats, and for treating the flats'whereby oxidation of the metal is materially lessened or wholly prevented. When made by existing methods such rolled materials'are more or less crooked after the completionof the rolling operations, necessitating filing or otherwise trimming the side edges 0 the flats,

and thereby causing considerable waste and expense. In such hot rolling operations there is a considerable loss in weight by oxidation of the metal while being rolled and while being cooled after-being rolled, by reason of its contact with the atmosphere. The scale or. oxid so formed-must be removed-from the rolled flats by pickling or other treatment; the pickled flats must be washed in water, treatedwith lime or in some other manner, and the so-treated metal baked in a hot dryhouse to remove all pickling solution or acid before the rolled metal can be subjectedto later cold rolling operations. The pickling, and other operations also add to the cost of making the flats, and consequently any process of hen "dling the metal tending to straighten itand to lessen the amount of scale formed 11 on the surfaces of the'metal, is very desira le. Heretofore, it has sometimes been the practice to cool such, rolled material by sprinkling or spraying the metal with water after it haslett the bull head or finishing train of rolls and during the reeling or bundling operations inorder to prevent any further appreciable oxidation.v But sprinkling of rolled flats during the reelingoperat-ion is ineflective because of the close contact-be- L tween the surfaces of the flats which prevents the water from entering between the layers.

H. DANIELS, of

@nepbject ofmy invention is to provide a novel method of making such flats by the -use of which exposure oflthe flats to the oxidizing influence of the atmos hereduring therollingoperations and durmg the later reehng operations is reduced to a minimum.

Another object of the invention is to provlde anvimproved method of making and reeling the materials whereby the flats are straightened during the rolling and prior to the :reeling operations and waste occasioned by filing and trimming the edges of such materials is avoided and overcome.

A further object of this invention is to provide improved apparatus by the use of which the metal flats or other materials being formed are immersed in and kept beneath the surface of a body of water or other cooling medium during their passage from one stand of rolls to another and from the finishing pass of the rolling mill to the reel or other apparatus used in disposing of the rolled flats.

A- still further object ofmy invention is to provide apparatus having improved means for feeding the metal through the cooling medium, to provide novel means for forming and maintaining the level of the cooling medium with relation to the mechanism employed, and in directing and conveying the flats through the cooling troughs.

Referring to the drawings, Figure 1 is a longitudinal sectional side elevation showing my apparatus constructed and arranged and assembled for use between the finishing pairs of rolls of a rolling mill and between the last roll pair and the reel. Fi 2 is a plan, on an enlarged scale, showing n detail the improved apparatus forming part of my invention as preferably constructed when used only between the last roll pair and the reel. Fig. 3 is a longitudinal sectional elevation of 'the cooling apparatus shown in Fig. 2, the reel formingpart of the apparatus being. shown in si e elevation. Fig. l is atransverse sectional elevation on the line IV-IV or Fig.2. Fig. 5 is a side elevation of the reeling mechanism used in carrying out my improved method of making hot matically, in Fig. 1.

In the accompanying drawings, the numorals 2, 2, 3, 3, 4, 4i, and 5, 5, (Fig. 1) designate sets or stands of two high reducing rolls formin the last of the passes of a rolling mill fir rolling hot finished flats and similar shapes, and 6 is a reeling mechanism, located in front of and onthe delivery side of the bull head or finishing stand or rolls,

5, by means of which the rolled flats are reeled or coiled into compact bundles, the apparatus used for this operation preferably being like that shown in Patent No. 936,610 granted to me on October 12, 1909, for a reel, or that shown and described in my pending application for a reel, Serial No. 4E98,968, filed May 28th, 1909. The reel 6 is referably located as shown, 111 line with and at some distance in front of the finishing rolls 5.

Located between the sets of rolls-3 and 4, .4: and 5, and between the rolls 5 and. the reeling mechanism 6, (Fig. 1,) are the troughs 7, which are adapted to contain water or other. cooling medium and are provided with means arranged to convey the flats or other metal shapes delivered from the successive stands of rolls into the next adjacent stand of rolls, and to the coiling or reeling mechanism 6. The troughs 7 are each provided with a plurality of sets of pinch rollers 8 and 9, the rollers 9 being positively driven through the bevel gears 1-0 and line shaft 11 by a suitable motor or plurality of motors of any desired type. The construction of such motors being old and well known, they are not further described.

The top rollers 8 are preferably adjustably held in engagement with the rollers 9, as is shown in Fig. i of the drawings, and preferably these rollers also are positively driven by means of spur gears 12 which mesh with spur gears 13 prov1ded on the ends of the shafts for the rollers 8 and 9, as is shown in Figs. 2 and 4:.

The flats, ordinarily being long and relatively thin and wide, are necessarily very flexible, and to prevent buckling .and to cause the materials to be fed forwardly in the trough, the pinch rollers are provided at comparatively short intervals in the length of the troughs. At each end of the troughs 7 is a swinging plate or gate 14 and 15, which is hinged to and is arranged to fit neatly between the sides of the trough so as to prevent excessive or substantial flow of the cooling medium from the troughs and maintain the fluid in the trough at the desired level above the bottom edge of the hinged plates 14 and 15. The Water or other cooling medium is supplied to the troughs 7 through inlet pipes 16 having a valve 17 by which the supply of fluid to the troughs is regulated and controlled.

The finished flats or rolled materials, after being led through the cooling trough 7 on the discharge side of the bull head rolls 5,

osaaa' are delivered to the drum of the reel 6 and thereby wound into a bundle or coil thereon, as is described and claimed in my above referred to prior patent and pending application.

In making metal flats and similar shapes inaccordance. Withmy improved method and in using the apparatus also forming part of this invention, at least one in each pair of pinch rollers 8, 9, located between adjacent stands of the reducing rolls, is positively driven. The pair of pinch rollers first receiving the flat from a stand of the reducing rolls is caused to rotate at a somewhat higher surface speed than the adjoining rearwardly located set of reducing rolls, and each succeeding pair of pinch rollers in each set is caused to rotate at a slightly higher surface speed than the preceding pair, so as to maintain the flat in suiiicient tension to straighten it. By maintaining the flats under tension during the rolling operations the wavy side edges and like irregularities found in flats when rolled by the old methods are lessened to such an extent as to be practically eleminated. Thus I avoid the necessity for later trimming or filing the side-edges of the flats and considerably lessen the waste and expense occasionad heretofore by such. trimming operations.

Each succeeding pair of reducing rolls has a surface speed somewhat less than the speed corresponding to the elongation of the flat. This is to avoid any elongation of the flat between the rolls by stretching, and to efl ect the reduction in sectional area only by pres sure between the rolls. The overfeed from the preceding roll pair buckles up the ma terial and forms a loop in front of the next roll pair. Another advantage gained by overfeeding is that the reduction at the passes can be varied independently, which would not be. possible if the speeds Were in proportion to the elongations.

The reeling mechanism is preferably arranged to rotate at a speed slightly greater than that of the last pair of pinch rollers in the trough 7 between the bull head rolls 5 and the reel 6, and the pinch rollers in the trough rotate'at different speeds so that the flats are held under tension and are straightened while between the finishing rolls and the reel in the same manner as has been previously described.

g In cases-Where the cooling trough is used only between the bull head rolls and the reeling mechanism, the straightening effect as well as the cooling efl'ect will be obtained to a lesser but appreciable degree. case, the flat or other flexible material is fed In this.

forwardly from the finishing pass in the rolls 5 and is led by the guides 19 to the forward end of the trough 7, the flat passing under the hinged gate or plate 14: and being seized by the first set of the pinch rollers 8 malaria and 9. These rollers, which are rotated at a higher surface speed than the finishing rolls 5, feed the metal forwardly between the guides 18 into the bite of the next set of pinch rollers 8 and 9, which feed it forward to the next and so successively until finally the al is caused to pass beneath the hinged U the opposite end of the trough 7 to by which it is coiled in the manner ore described.

It wil noted that by the provision of the swin J fee 14% and 15, the level of the water or e, r cooling medium supplied to the troughs .l is maintained above the parting between the pinch rollers 8 and 9 and while through the troughs the flats or other sl-."-.pes are kept immersed at all times below the levelof the cooling medium,

in this way preventing contact with the at,-

mosphere and avoiding the otherwise resulting oxidation.

The flats, as they are delivered from the trough, are caused to engage with the drum of the reel (3, upon which they are wound into compact coils or bundles.'and the metal being cooled to a very low temperature, while passingthrough the trough or troughs, does not shrink upon the drum so that the removal of the coils is easily accomplished, while further oxidation of the rolled fiat will not take place.

The advantages ofmy invention will be apparent to those skilled in the art. By putting tension on the flats between the successive reducing passes and between the finishing rolls and reeling mechanism, the thin hats are formed straight, and the expense occasioned by the trimming and dressing of the marginal edges of the flats heretofore always found necessary is avoided. The

metal flats or other articles, during the later reducing operations, and after leaving the finishing rolls, are quickly immersedin the cooling medium and are kept beneath the surface of the cooling medium practically continuously so as to be exposed to the oxidizing influence of the atmosphere for only the short interval of time in which the rapidly moving metal travels between the rolls and the ends of the troughs after each pass, and before being reeled the materials have become cooled below the temperature at which oxidation will occur. By keeping the fiat submerged in water as it passes from one pair of reducing rolls to the next, contact with the atmosphere and consequently oxidation is prevented and by maintaining it submerged as it passes from the last stand 1 of reducing rolls to the reel, its temperature is su'lficiently lowered to prevent the formation of scale after reeling, and there will be no formation of scale whatever.

The flats are automatically guided and are positively fed forward through the troughs, and the cooled flats are quickly reeled into bundles or coils in readiness to be afterward transported from the reels to a place of use. The apparatus is simple and is easily kept in repair.

eModifications in the construction and arrangement of the parts may be made without departing from my invention as defined in the appended claims.

I claim I l. The method of making rolled metal flats and like materials consisting in simultaneously reducing, the metal at a plurality of points in its length in the passes of a rolling mill and applying tension to the metal between the rolling passes during the reducing operation to thereby straighten the metal, and then wrapping the straightened metal into a bundle or coil.

2. The method. of making rolled metal flats and like materials consisting in reducing the metal in the passes of a rolling mill, passing the metal through pools of cooling medium between successive rolling passes and simultaneously applying tension to the metal to thereby straighten themetal.

3. The method of making rolled metal flats and like materials consisting in reducing the metal in the passes of the rolling mill, passing the rolled metal through a cooling medium while applying tension thereto to cool and straighten the metal and to prevent oxidation.

l. The method of rolling metal flats and like materials consisting in simultaneously reducing different portions of the length 01"" the metal and applying tension to the portions of the metal extending between the points of reduction during. the rolling operation.

5. The method of rolling metal flats an like materials consisting in simultaneously reducing different portions of the length of the flat, and submerging the portions of the metal extending between the parts in engagement with the rolls in a cooling medium while passing from one roll pass to another.

6. The method of rolling metal flats and the like consisting in simultaneously reducing the metal at a plurality of points in the length of the metal, immersing the metal between the points of reduction in a cooling medium and maintaining the metal in ten sion while passing through the cooling medium.

7. The method of rolling metal flats and like materials consisting in simultaneously reducing different portions of the leng h or the fiat and maintaining under tension the portions of the metal extending between the parts of the flat in engagement with the reducing rolls, and finally reeling the rolled fiat into a bundle or coil.

8. The method of rolling metal flats and like materials consisting in simultaneously reducing different portions or the length of the metal, maintaining the portions of the metal extending between the points of reduction under tension during the rolling operetion and immersing the portions extend.- ing between the points of reduction in a cooling medium while under tension, and finally coiling the rolled fiat into a bundle or coil.

9. The method of rolling metal flats and the like consisting in simultaneously reducing the metal at a plurality of points in the length thereof, immersing the metal between the points of reduction and between the last 1 point of reduction and the reel in a cooling medium and maintaining the metal under linemen tension While ersecl in the cooling medlum.

10. The method of rolling metal flats and the like consisting in simultaneously reilucing the metal at a plurality of points'in the length of the metal, immersing the metal between the last point of reduction and the reel in it cooling medium and maintaining the metal under tension While immersed in l the cooling medium.

In testimony whereof, I have hereunto set my hand.

FRED H. DANIELS. Witnesses:

A. F. Bnonmn,

T, GALLAGHER. 

